Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $212.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $226.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.50. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $165.20 and a one year high of $250.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. Analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 55.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total value of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,175,045.71. This trade represents a 54.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America engages in the production of container products. It operates through the following segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers a variety of corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of papers, including communication-based papers, and pressure sensitive papers.